Stock market today: Indian benchmark indices trimmed early gains in Wednesday’s trade, May 14, but still closed the session with healthy gains, driven by strong performances in metals, real estate, and technology stocks.
The Nifty 50 ended the session with a 0.36% rally, or an 88-point increase, closing at 24,666, while the Sensex closed at 82,429 points, up 200 points, or 0.23%, from the previous close. The broader market, however, managed to outperform the frontline indices in a volatile session, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index rising 1.13% and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index increasing 1.36%.
While the Indian stock market is still struggling to find direction after recording its best intraday jump in four years on Monday, domestic defense stocks continue to build momentum for the third straight day, showing no signs of weakness.
Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation eased in April to its slowest pace in over six years, driven by lower food prices. This has also lifted market hopes, suggesting further room for the Indian central bank to implement another rate cut, which could potentially boost consumer demand further.
Another factor boosting rate cut optimism is the Indian economy’s 6.4% growth in the December quarter — its slowest since the January-March 2022-23 period, barring one quarter. Economists now widely expect the central bank to opt for another rate cut in June.
On the other hand, data released overnight showing softer-than-expected U.S. consumer inflation also provided some relief to investors worried about the inflationary impact of U.S. tariff policies, which had severely undercut expectations of near-term Fed rate cuts.
With U.S. inflation data now behind the markets, the next major signal for the U.S. economy is the April retail sales data, due Thursday. On the same day, talks are scheduled between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, raising hopes for a ceasefire three years into Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.
